SyncTap: synchronous user operation for spontaneous network connection

This paper introduces the concept of synchronous user operation, a user interface technique for establishing spontaneous network connections between digital devices. This concept has been implemented in the “SyncTap system”, which allows a user to establish device connections through synchronous button operations. When the user wants to connect two devices, she synchronously presses and releases the “connection” buttons on both devices. Then, multicast packets containing button press and release timing information are sent through the network. By comparing this timing information with locally recorded information, the devices can correctly identify each other. This scheme is simple but scalable because it can detect and handle simultaneous overlapping connection requests. It can also be used to establish secure connections by exchanging public keys. This paper describes the principle, the protocol, and various applications in the domain of ubiquitous computing.

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